Alex and Tom formed Fixed Ascent, which became The Feltro Media (with bassist Alistair Gavan, now of diomedes), before renaming themselves The Soft Parade and signing to indie label Db in early 2001 (without Gavan). They added the ‘Electric’ part of their name shortly after their early singles began getting some attention in the rock press - they were threatened with legal action by a Doors tribute band if they did not change it. This did not halt their rise to (relative) fame at all, however, and their debut album, Holes In The Wall, was issued in February 2002. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize later that year, although they did not win the award. Their second album, The American Adventure appeared in October 2003, now on BMG Records. Alex and Tom have since started a side project in the form of Brakes with British Sea Power’s ex keyboardist Eamon Hamilton and Marc Beatty of The Tenderfoot. The White brothers have also been assisting up-and-coming Brighton acts such as The Pipettes and Actress Hands. The band released the 6 track The Human Body EP on Truck Records in December 2005. The U.S. version of the EP was released in May 2006 and included bonus track The Captain. It was released on Better Looking Records. The Electric Soft Parade made their first U.S. appearance at the South by Southwest Festival in March of the same year and played at The Great Escape Festival, Brighton in May. They also play Truck Festival, Oxford in July, Electric Gardens Festival, Kent in August and End Of The Road Festival, Dorset in September. In April 2007, The Electric Soft Parade released their third full-length, No Need To Be Downhearted on Better Looking Records in the U.S. and Truck Records in the UK. The album title is a lyric from a song called 15 Ways by The Fall from the Middle Class Revolt album. Mojo Magazine gave Electric Soft Parade’s new full-length 4 out of 5 stars raving ”Full of regret, hard-won wisdom and DIY pop artistry, No Need To Be Downhearted transcends bog-standard indie to build a world of sophisticated melody and ingenious arrangements.” |
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